Life as a Consumer When Market Prices have Gone up by Toby Nwazor

It is
very painful that even the price of ‘matches’ (matchsticks) has been affected
by the current economic downturn. Recently in Abuja, I got to a market and
wanted to buy a pack of matches at the initial price of 50 naira. The guy, who
was hawking on foot looked at me and said "100 naira". I walked away hoping to
buy it in front. I thought he didn't know what he was saying until I saw it at
the same price elsewhere.

Well,
matches are still a small thing. What about rice, the common staple food of most
Nigerians? A bag of rice now costs between 13k to 15k. While the smallest measure sells for 500naira.
Instead of eating rice, some people have turned to Amala and gbegiri (Soup made
from bean paste) to survive the hard times. Since beans still fairly have the
same price, some bean haters have now turned to lovers of beans. Lol. Talk
about the positive effect of an economic downturn.

While
everybody is complaining bitterly about the high price of tomatoes, some people
have moved on to making stew with carrot, pepper, paw-paw, onion and tatashe (bell
pepper). In my experience, it's a very perfect blend. Carrot is even good
because of its anti-oxidant effect in the body. So, while you think you are
suffering without tomatoes, you are actually getting fresher and increasing
your longevity by adding fresh carrot to your blend. The stew can be richer and
tastier.

Hard
times bring out the creativity in people. It also shows that human beings must
survive no matter the situation. Not also overlooking the fact that, it brings
out new solutions or new methods which no one would have explored before now.

Life as
a consumer at this time when market prices have gone up is really interesting.
Potatoes are now in season and in abundance. If you cannot afford the price of
yam, then you go for sweet potatoes which is by far sweeter and cheaper
anyways.

Garri
is no longer very affordable but the price of wheat is still the same. So is
the price of yam flour. So, if you haven't tried other varieties of food before
now, it is time to indulge your palate and strike a balance. You would
eventually find out that you can actually do without garri. Except you are
addicted to garri.

Of
course, food sellers have also reduced the quantity they dish out to you. This
means you have to pay more for a normal bowl that will satisfy you.
Notwithstanding, some still prefer to eat at Bukas to avoid the stress of
looking for what to eat. Those Bukas are the saving grace of some people after
working their ass out in their offices.

As far
as the economy and state of things are presently, I think employees are the
worse off. Unlike entrepreneurs, their incomes are fixed. This is more reason
to start
a business today if you haven’t.

The
most horrifying thing about going to the market these days is that any money
you go with ends up being insufficient. Sometimes, I end up spending my
transport fare in the market before realising that all the money is gone. Thank
God for the proximity of my house to the market.

Even
after doing your calculations at home, you still get to the market and realise
that your money is chasing fewer goods. Virtually, every item in the market has
increased in price, even seemingly unimportant things such as razor blades.

While
the price of dispenser water is still steady, the same cannot be said of pure
water. A bag of pure water is being sold for 120 naira or more.

In
spite of all these, what baffles me the most is why prices usually plummet
during festive periods? What does Milo or Peak milk have to do with a festive
period? Search me! I’ve always thought those items should reduce so that
several people can afford it during the festive season period but this is not
the case.

The
good news is that, come what may, under any circumstance, the Nigerian masses
will always survive. Yes it is true, we are resilient people.

Toby Nwazor is a consumer goods entrepreneur with
hands on experience Business start-ups, marketing and customer service. He is
the founder of My Startup CEO. You may follow
him on Twitter

2 comments

Well written, Toby!Hard times teach us survival.I think a lot of people should embark on growing their own food. Even if you have no big space, a few pots of tomatoes on your veranda will go a long way.We must find new strategies as it gets tougher.

You are right Precious. Except most of us don't even know the first thing about planting. Funny enough, my mum used to plant vegetables and things in our back garden when we were growing up. But I guess I fancied myself too much as a city girl to keep my eyes on what she was doing. Lol